Core - The Self and The Other

What is Aristotle's outlook on the impact of society on the individual?

- Humans are uniquely speaking animals - shows that we are designed to live in a society because the telos (purpose) of anything is defined by its unique features

- Speaking allows us to voice right and wrong - justice

- Society comes before the individual

- Body and limbs analogy: if you destroy a body, you destroy the limbs; if you only destroy a limb, the body still works but the limb is not a limb because it cannot fulfil its purpose

- Humans are not humans unless they are able to fulfil their purpose of being political and living in a society

- If someone lives outside of society or is self-sufficing (e.g., feral children), they are "either a lower animal or a god"

What can we use to support Aristotle's views on humans in society?

- Trends: humans are usually found in some kind of group or society.

- Empirical research: according to developmental psychology, we need role models and societies to develop "normally"

Why can we say there is a paradox with freedom and equality?

- We cannot truly be free without equality as inequality places restrictions on us in terms of opportunity and experiences

- But we cannot have freedom and maintain equality, as people try to impose sovereignty upon other people and by circumstance, are often successful

What is liberalism?

- Political doctrine - centralises protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual

- A completely liberalist society would be a neutral aggregate of individual choices, where every individual is free (unencumbered selves - making choices out of preference)

- Govt. is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed but can also pose a threat to liberty

- Thomas Paine - said that at best, government is "a necessary evil"

- Classical liberalists: governments can and should only protect individual liberty

- Modern liberalists: governments should primarily remove obstacles that prevent individuals from living freely/fully realising their potential

What is the main problem liberalism faces?

- Devising a system that gives government the power necessary to protect individual liberty but also prevents those who govern from abusing that power

- Classical vs. Modern: solely protection vs. protection and promotion

What are some examples of liberalism being embraced by governments today?

- Classical Liberalism: Europe - limited government impact and laissez-faire economic policies

- Modern Liberalism: US - New Deal program of Democratic administration, economic promotion policies by Pres. Roosevelt

What are the strengths of liberalism?

- Governments cannot abuse their power

- People might be innately moral, liberalism might promote altruism

- Adam Smith: moral sentiment - expectations might hold people accountable to help the less well-off

- People get to keep what they earn

What are the weaknesses of liberalism?

- Risks anarchy

- Hard to draw a line with what 'harms' people

- Neglect from the government can lead to major issues with things like public health

- Those that become powerful from wealth might take advantage of less well-off - can we rely on altruism?

- We might begin to neglect our duty to others - feel no obligation/responsibility towards them

- Some things are necessary, but wouldn't be done without incentive that govt. must provide

What is John Rawls' Theory of Justice?

- We agree that things as they are now are unfair, and we struggle to reform because we don't put ourselves in another's shoes

- We know what needs to be changed: we just need to think about society from behind an imaginary Veil of Ignorance

- Ask: Would we want to be born into the world as it is, with no knowledge of the context in which we will be born? Not knowing our circumstance, our location, our parents, our skin colour, anything?

What are the strengths of Rawls' Veil of Ignorance?

- Allows us to be more objective about what is fair

- Provides us with a tool to critique our societies

- Overcomes the problem we often face, of there being detachment between the wealthy and the poor (for example)

- Allows for inequality but equally emphasises having the ability to change our circumstances

What are the weaknesses of Rawls' Veil of Ignorance?

- Any changes we make would only be out of self-interest - important to consider if we want the changes to be made out of altruism or if it is enough just for the changes to be made, regardless of the motivation

- We may still struggle to actually imagine and know what it would be like to live in other circumstances - we can never know the true extent of problems/advantages other people face

- The notion of government still exists.

What is communitarianism?

- General term for more focus on society collectively

- Much of our lives is devoted to unchosen routines and habits - the social framework

- The "unencumbered self" is a myth

- Only when things go wrong do we realise how much we are a product of our society

- There is no point in trying to find a theory of justice on principles that individuals would choose from behind a Rawlsian veil of ignorance because such individuals cannot exist, even in principle

- There is no coherent way of formulating individual rights or interest abstractly from social contexts.

What are the strengths of communitarianism?

- Benefits such as better healthcare and day-to-day altruism

- Protects us from polarising attitudes

What are the weaknesses of communitarianism?

- It stops the pursuit of individual values, as we place more emphasis on other people's expectations of you

- Might make us more vulnerable to extreme ideologies - because we place a lot of value on the opinions of the people we surround ourselves with, we might adopt their extreme ideologies

What were Nietzsche's 4 main values?

- Own up to envy - natural part of being human that acts as a guide to what we really want

- Don't be a Christian - it is too comfortable and makes people complacent to things they don't want or can't have. It fosters cowardice and protects people from envy.

- Don't drink alcohol - same reason as above, getting what we want should hurt and we should feel it to improve

- God is dead

Why does Nietzsche claim that God is dead?

- If God is dead (and we have killed him) this means that there are major decisions that need to be made about morality

- We need to decide what morality is on our own

- He thinks the gap that religion leaves should be filled with culture

How do Nietzsche's ideas align with Hobbes' ideas about human nature?

- Nietzsche agrees with Hobbes that desire is natural

- But Hobbes thinks we should control it and avoid indulging

- Nietzsche thinks we should lean into it

What does Nietzsche say about our relationships with others?

- Will to Power: we have an innate desire to dominate others

- Anyone we try to exert power over will try to exert power over us

- We should use role models: strong individuals should lead us on our journey to becoming the ubermensch (self-overcoming, best human)

Why can we disagree with Nietzsche about the nature of human relationships?

- Common experience tells us that there are other motivations to forge a relationship with someone

- We more often desire to be equal with someone than to exert power over them

- Nietzsche says we are not interested in equality at all - surely this is problematic?

What does Marx say are the main problems with capitalism?

- Modern work is alienated - workers do not see themselves in the final goal

- Modern work is insecure - we are afraid to be let go, and these feelings are exploited

- Capitalism is unstable - we have crises of abundance, more often than those of shortage, unemployment is actually freedom

- Capitalism is bad for capitalists - bourgeois marriage is a matter of business, commodity fetishism, leisure should be seen as admirable not as sin

- Capitalist ideology makes people anxious, competitive, conformist - our value becomes only money and productive worth

What are Charles Taylor's ideas about identity?

- Communitarian critique of liberal theory's understanding of the self and identity

- Identity is dialogical - formed in collaboration/dialogue with others, through our interactions and relationships with others

- Identity is not purely self-made, shaped by horizons of meaning - historical, cultural and social contexts we are embedded in

- Recognition: the need to have our unique ways of being and identities acknowledged and valued by others - a vital human need

- Identity is fluid, constantly shaped through our interactions and choices